Miles opened the home portion of the 2022-23 schedule with a hard-fought 67-61 win over Kentucky Wesleyan on Wednesday night at Knox-Windham Gymnasium. The Golden Bears (2-0) never trailed by more than three points and led by as many as 19 points in the second half before holding off a furious Wildcats rally at the end.

The game was tied late in the first half before Miles outscored KWC 12-4 over the final five minutes to take the lead into the break. Elijah Horton's bucket gave the Golden Bears the lead for good with 4:50 remaining in the period and Rodney Battle put the exclamation point on the half by draining a three-quarter court heave at the horn to push Miles to a 29-21 advantage at halftime.

The Golden Bears defense then came out of the break on a mission, tightening the clamps on the Wildcats. KWC missed its first seven shots of the second half and turned the ball over five times over the first five-plus minutes of the period. Meanwhile, Miles started to find the range from long distance. Mykayle Carter, Truitt Spencer and Horton all drained 3-balls during that run, the last capping an 11-0 breakout to start the half that gave the team a 40-21 advantage with 14:32 remaining.

Kentucky Wesleyan tried to get back into the contest, making mini runs that chipped away at the Miles lead. But Battle was knocking down shots from all over the floor to stop any real surge from the Wildcats. He scored 15 of his game-high 29 points in the second half on an array of shots that kept the Golden Bears comfortably in front. KWC got as close as five points with less than a minute left, but Chase Ballard made 3-of-4 free throws and Battle knocked down two more to seal the victory.

Markel Aune and Jordan Roland each had 14 points to pace Kentucky Wesleyan. Horton (12 points, five rebounds), Spencer (eight points) and Makai Vassell (six points, five rebounds) were among the contributors for Miles, which hosts Oakwood on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.